The Anglo-Scottish frontier had been in constant
dispute since Edward Ist had launched a series of brutal and devastating
invasions over the Border in pursuance of his ambition to annexe
Scotland. His armies burnt and destroyed whole communities of people,
animals and crops throughout the Borderland in his attempt to subjugate
Scotland. lnevitably the Scots retaliated and invading armies from both
sides were met with "scorched-earth" policies. Over the
ensuing years, these terrible wars of attrition continued, with both
Governments encouraging their Borderers to constantly harass and raid
across the frontier. Robert the Bruce, after Bannockburn in 1314,
allowed his victorious armies to systematically ravage the Northern
Marches of England, thus the Borderland was turned into a political and
economic wasteland, that prevailed for over 300 years. As the buffer
zone between two of the most belligerent neighbours in history, the
Borderland was a battleground, populated by a unique breed of people: the
Border Reivers.

By the beginning of the 16th Century, Borderers were
caught up in a continuing cycle of feuding, violence and destruction;
realising that both Governments had neither the will nor the power to
protect them they naturally turned to their families for protection.
Perversely, both Governments contributed to this through their policies
of installing a bulwark against the other side, encouraging settlement
of their Border regions by offering land and low rents in exchange for
military service. This eventually lead to overpopulation, which was
aggravated by Border inheritance laws called "Gavel kind', whereby
a man's lands were evenly divided amongst his sons on his demise. This
resulted in many families having too little land to support themselves
and their only option was to form allegiances [a] with each other to
gain strength and protection. Over the ensuing three and a half
centuries the "Great Reiding" families evolved a clannish type
of existence, meeting each outrage against their members with violent
reprisals. Those not fortunate enough to belong to one of these powerful
Border families were subject to extortion and blackmail [b]. Such folk
invariably turned to theft and reiving as a means of support and became
the mercenaries or "broken men" of the Borderland, selling
their reiving skills to the highest bidder. This of course, suited both
national Governments, as the families raided over and around the
Borders, causing the constant turmoil which provided the buffer zone
both Governments needed and had so actively encouraged.

Because the frontier was such a unique place, both
Kingdoms agreed that it should be governed under itís own laws; in
November 1248 six English and six Scottish Knights met to "correct,
according to ancient and approved custom of the March, such matters as
required to be redressed". This conference resulted in a
written code of thirteen articles agreed the following year, which
allowed for fugitives to be captured and returned to their own countries
and also for accused persons to be summonsed to appear before a special
Border court to answer for their crimes; this last became the origin of
the "Day of Truce". These Thirteen Articles were added to and
developed over ensuing years and became the "Legis Marchiarum"
[c] or Border laws under which the Marches operated until 1603, when
James VI/Ist repealed them and abolished the Marches.

The Border Reivers thus evolved from 300 years of
raiding and feuding (often referred to as the Three Hundred Years War),
into a race of expert light horsemen, skilled in raiding, scouting
ambush and skirmishing. They were cursed in both countries as "evell
disposed personnes, Inclined to wildness and disorder", but
occasionally hailed as "fine soldiers, able with horse and
harness, nimble, wile and always in readiness for any service".
Though despised in peace time, it was these very characteristics that
made the Reiver so eagerly recruited by their respective national
governments in time of war. The English army by 1540 could call on 2,500
such men and this division was called the "Border Horse" [d].
It was said that the "most remarkable of the mounted men in
Henry VIll's army were the Northem Horsemen who, havlng been called into
existence by the eternal forays of the Scottish Border were light
cavalry, probably the very best in Europe".

There does not seem to have been a standard uniform,
but they were expected to have a "steill cap, jak of plate,
botes, spurres, sword, dagger, horsemans staffe, and case of pistolles"
and of course a horse [e]. Recruited as light horsemen or "prickers",
the role of the Border Horse was simply an extension of their usual
daily activities on the Borders. They scouted, ambushed enemy patrols,
rustled livestock, stole supplies and provisions and plundered towns and
villages. In 1544 a large English force supported by a naval fleet,
under the command of the Earl of Hertford, invaded the east coast of
Scotland, sacking Leith and Dunbar and capturing Edinburgh. While the
main English army was burning the city, they were joined by "400
light horsemen from the Borders, by the King's Majesty's Appointment;
who after their coming did such exploits in riding and devastating the
country that within seven miles of every side of Edinburgh, they left
neither pele, house nor village standing unburnt, nor stacks of corn,
besides great numbers of cattle which they brought in daily to the army
and met with such good stuff which the inhabitants of Edinburgh had for
the safety of the same conveyed ouf of the town".

Observance of religion does not seem to have played a
large part in the life of a Reiver, although attendance at Sunday
evensong was certainly required at Arthuret [b]. Legend has it that the
Reivers also prayed hard enough before a raid to ensure itís success
[f]. Quite often Church services were interrupted by Reiver families
bringing their weapons and feuds into the service. The clergyís
attempts to subdue the Borders by threatening hell and damnation went
unnoticed; the most famous attempt by the Archbishop Gavin Dunbar of
Glasgow in his "Monition of Cursing" stretched to 1500
of the most descriptive words of cursing of all time; it was read from
every pulpit in the Borders to little effect, except that some of the
more cynical of the Reivers held their own communion service in defiance
of the interdict where one Hector Charlton "resaved the parsonís
dewties and served them all of wyne"

The Border Horse also served in lreland during the
O'Neill and Tyrone rebellions. The Irish, fighting on their home ground,
generally confined themselves to "skirmishing in passes, bogs,
woods and all places to their advantage". The Border Horse were
in their element here, especially as they were better mounted than the
Irish, "having deep war saddles with stirrups and using
pistolles as well as staffes and swords many having jak of plate and
such-like defensive arms, and being bold and strong for encounters and
long marches and of greater stature than the lrish must needs have great
advantage over them". In 1540, it was said that a hundred
English Northern spears on horseback combined with a like number of
longbow men and hack butters would be a much more effective force than
1,000 of the regular army stationed in Ireland.

Their exploits are legendary, but their greatest
moment was undoubtedly Sollome Moss, where 800 of the "Deíils
Dozen"[g] Reivers defeated a full Scottish invading army of up
to 18,000 men, cavalry and artillery, with the loss of 7 dead and 1
wounded. In the process they captured the whole Scottish military
leadership, hundreds of prisoners, the whole Scottish artillery and
almost all their standards, sending the routed army fleeing back to
Scotland after taking even their boots off them "bicause they
shuld the more spedely flye homewerts" without the encumbrance
of their clothing!

Notes:

a. They were honourable.....
even today a borderer will not break his given word lightly, written
contracts and legalese still take second place to the old "spit and
shake". In the original Thirteen Articles there was provision for
"Bauchling" which was the accusation of breaking a given-word
or bond; a glove representing the false hand was displayed at the end of
a lance and the name of the accused called out. Such a disgrace was
either removed by the accused challenging and fighting his accusers to
the death or his own family executing him to wipe out the stain. It is
interesting that the offence of perjury also covered by the Thirteen
Articles, was only punished by imprisonment for a year and a day, so
breaking the given-word on the Borders was significantly worse than
lying to the court! Bauchling is believed to be the origination of the
word "Botch" (botched job, etc) and gives itís name to
Botchergate in Carlisle where such felons were accused by their names
being displayed on the Southern gate of the city (nicknamed the
Bauchling Gate or now Botchergate)

b. Blakmeale or Black
mail was invented by Hutcheon Graham of Arthuret a notorious Reiver, who
collected it each week after Sunday Evensong service in the porch of
Arthuret Church; it was originally a payment of grain ("Meale"),
paid at night ("Blak") to insure against the animals being
stolen again and another more expensive form to actually employ the
Reiver blackmailer to retreive stolen goods......not much different to
our modern insurers really! However it still actually prevails today as
a border custom at the livestock auctions in the payment of
"Luck" money from the seller to the buyer of his animals.
Nowadays it is a customary "thanks" for buying, but it's
origins are in the blackmail payment being passed on to the new owner so
that he could afford protection after paying for the animals as a
guarantee/insurance against them being reived back again.

c. There is a review of
the original "Legis Marchiarum" in the Bishop of Carlisleís
records, which was written by Richard Bell, Warden Clerk to both Lord
Scropes. Richardís version is the only extant record of "Legis
Marchiarum" and as he was the last West March Wardenís Clerk,
retiring with the second Lord Scrope after the Union of the Crowns, it
gives a clear picture of how the law had been reviewed and developed
from the original Thirteen Articles.

d. The fore-runner to the
Kings Royal Border Regiment (The Corbies). The Corbies were and in their
recently combined form are still based at Carlisle Castle (The Corbies
Nest), which is one of the oldest working Castles in Britain, perhaps
the oldest if the Roman occupation of Luguvallum (Carlisle) and their
Fort (on the present Castle site) is included. The Border Regiment is
thus the modern equivalent of the Reivers irregular light horse and the
"Corbies" exploits in recent wars certainly confirm their
ancestry.

e. The Reiverís horse
was also the result of warring evolution; when the Romans arrived they
brought with them Frisian horses from Europe, which then evolved over
the next millenium into a shaggy, but sturdy pony called variously a
"hobbler", "bog trotter" and "nagg". Today
the pony is known as a "galloway" or "fell". They
were reliable, ate almost anything, did not require much attention, had
incredible stamina and were very sure-footed, a pre-requisite for the
boggy marshes of the Solway and the moorlands of Tynedale and Teviotdale.
Border Reivers were born into into the saddle and with a plentiful
supply of these fell-ponies became expert well mounted horsemen.

f. Legend has it that
Reiver children were baptised with their fighting hand covered, so that
it was unchristened to allow it to be used in unholy fashion conducting
feuds against his enemies.

g. The "Deíils
Dozen" is a nickname given to the thirteen most powerful and active
West March Reiding families. These thirteen families were responsible
for more Reiving activity than the rest of the Border Families put
together; they instigated the greatest raids, were involved in the most
legendary exploits and consisted of most of the more infamous and
legendary Reivers across the three centuries of the Reiver period.

Although the western Anglo-Scottish Border was agreed
in Edward II's reign with David II of Scotland in 1330, to run along the
course of the Esk and Liddle from Gretna to Kershopefoot (the rest of
the Border being more or less accepted) to delineate between the English
and Scottish West Marches, in practice this region was controlled by
Wardens who usually held the land in their own right. In Scotland the
Maxwells, Johnstones and Scotts securely held the Scottish West March to
Gretna and Langholm and in England the region was controlled by the
Warden from Carlisle. The Esk basin at Arthuret was a marshy bogland
called Sollomoss which was difficult to police and with the Scottish
jurisdiction having difficulty policing their side from Gretna to
Canonbie, the powerful families who lived there became uncontrolled.

The Debateable Land [a] arose because the Graemes,
Armstrongs, Elliots and Bells were too powerful and the Wardens left
them alone. These four families raided equally in both England and
Scotland, claiming alliegance to neither country; it actually suited
both Governments to have such a "buffer" zone, so the district
became a sort of no-mans land, where neither country could or would
enforce their jurisdiction. Eventually the lawlessness of all such no-go
area's prevailed and both Wardens demanded that the Debateable Land be
eradicated. So in 1552 a commission under the French ambassador was
appointed to finalise the Border line. Typically he simply divided the
Debateable land into two halves cut by a man-made ditch called the Scots
Dyke, giving the western half to England and the eastern half to
Scotland.....intriguing that England received the main western road into
Scotland, while Scotland received little else but moorland. In point of
fact nothing much changed, except that a Dyke was constructed, but the
four families were unimpressed and continued their raiding activities
just as equitably and lawlessly as they had in the past.

Note:

a. An amusing anecdote
about how the debateable land came to belong to neither side is told
around the local hostelries when the natives are in their
"cups". Apparently at some time around the early 16th century,
the English West March Warden and the Scottish West March Warden grew
tired of being unable to enforce their jurisdictions, because no-one
knew exactly where the border lay. They then met and agreed that two
Scottish nobles from Edinburgh along with two English nobles from London
would mark out an agreed border line. These four just worthies met up at
Annie-Janes pub the evening before the day appointed for this purpose
and as nobles do consumed vast quantities of the local brew as a
pre-requisite for their hard task. In the morning, the Englishmen were
up early and being impatient to be about their task, left without the
two Scotsmen, to mark out the border from Kershopefoot to Gretna. They
established that their route would take them down the Liddle and Esk
Rivers to Longtown and then to Gretna.

Meanwhile the two
Scotsmen arriving at breakfast late, asked about the route the
Englishmen have taken, to be told by the locals to follow the River
Liddle to the Esk and then to Langtoon, which they would recognise by itís
bridge (actually not built until 1746) across the Esk. Setting off the
two Scotsmen travel down the Liddle to the Esk and meeting a shepherd
ask him the way to the Lang place with the bridge. They are duly
directed up the Esk to Langholm. So the nett result is two borders: one
from Kershope to Longtown to Gretna; and the other from Kershope to
Langholm to Gretna. The resulting 12 mile long by 5 mile wide strip
between the two became the Debateable Land.

The Battle of
Sollomoss

The Causes of the
Battle of Sollomoss.

The roots of Sollomoss laid as much in Henry VIII's
belief that he could flout with impunity the the authority of the
Universal Church, public opinion of Christendom and the personal
interests of the Holy Roman Emperor, as in James V's delusion that he
could reinstate Catholicism in England. Self restraint had never been
Henry's virtue and encouraged by the wealth gained from his dissolution
of the lesser monasteries in 1536, the crushing of the "Pilgrimage
of Grace" in 1536, which confirmed his religious authority and the
birth of his male heir in 1537, Henry prepared the country for
Protestantism after his death.

When Francis I, King of France and the Holy Roman
Emperor,Charles V signed a 10 year treaty, ending the Habsburg-Valois
war, Henry, now a widower, feared that they would join forces to enact
the Papal Bull of 1530 deposing him. The first portent of trouble
occurred in 1539 when a fleet of 60 ships from the Low Countries passed
through the English Channel to Spain. In response Henry mobilised almost
150 ships and enacted the Navigation Act in 1540. He also began spending
vast sums (an average of 29% of his ordinary revenue) on his navy and
coastal defences. Henry also decided to ally himself with another
European power to neutralise the threat from the 10 year treaty and
found himself in a short-lived marriage to Ann of Cleves. While the
marrriage negotiations were taking place, a Catholic reaction had begun
in England, which lead to the Act of Six Articles and the arrest and
execution of Cromwell, who had done so much to enrich and empower Henry.
However by 1542, the crisis with Europe passed as the Habsburg-Valois
war had broken out again between France and Charles V; Henry could turn
his attention to developing his navy. While the navy had always cruised
in the English channel, it was quite an achievement to sail further than
the North Channel and in fact the only ship to have penetrated further
north in this era was the Mary Willoughby in 1533 which had been sent to
the Northern Isles and captured by the Scots who used her successfully
for the next 15 years. So in 1541, Henry sent her successor the Mary
Walsingham under William Woodhouse, but unfortunately the New
Renaissance technology of sail and heavy gun again proved little match
for the Highland galleys and she too was captured. Henry's well known
arrogance was unable to brook this second sleight to his naval power and
the seeds were sown for further retaliation.

On the Scottish side, James V had come to the throne
as a boy as a direct result of his father being killed by the English at
Flodden in 1513. His first years of office were under a Regent and
Council, who held him as a minor under the tutelage of Angus and
Douglas, which amounted to little more than imprisonment. His Guardians
had ensured that his education was minimal, attempting to ensure that
when he reached his majority he would still be dependant on them. After
several attempts to escape the Guardians he at last succeeded in the
summer of 1528 arriving disguised in Stirling. The Country rose in his
support and after a brief campaign Douglas was defeated and Angus
escaped to England. In 1530 James having set up his own Council in
Edinburgh, was annoyed that the disorganised state of the Borders
represented a weakness in the governance of his kingdom and avowed his
intention to reduce them to order, no doubt remembering that Douglas
originated in the Borders. Before this could be achieved he had to
remove those powerful Border lords whose influence might thwart his
plans, so he commanded the imprisonment of the Earl of Bothwell, Lord
Home, Lord Maxwell, Scott of Buccleuch, Ker of Ferniehirst, and other
powerful Border chiefs and proceeded into Eskdale and Teviotdale with a
force of 8,000 men to do justice on the Reivers. Cockburn of Henderson
and Scott of Tushielaw, two notorious offenders were said to be hanged
before the gates of their own castles (actually they were removed to
Edinburgh and executed at the Tollgate), but the fate of Johnie
Armstrong, of Gilnockie, near Langholm, produced a much deeper
impression, although not unmingled with some commiseration, on the
Reivers.

Johnie was undisputed "King of the Borders"
and it was said that "....from the Scottis bordour to Newcastell
of England, thair was not ane of quhatsoevir estate bot payed to this
John Armestrange ane tribut [blakmeale] to be frae of his cumber ....and
albeit that he was ane lous leivand man, .....he was als guid ane
chieftane as evir was upon the borderis...." James invited
Johnie to hunt with him at Carlenrig, but Johnie and his men turned up
to the meet so splendidly dressed and equipped that the young King took
offence. At first Johnie tried to talk his way out of trouble, offering
half his "blakmeale" takings, but when he realised the
futility of trying to bribe James, he then famously insulted the King,
by saying proudly: "I am but a fool to seek grace at a graceless
face!"; Johnie and his men were promptly "....all
hangit apoun growand trees....". It is recorded that all Johnieís
estates were awarded to the imprisoned Lord Maxwell after this incident,
rather suggesting that the whole thing had been a plot from the start,
with Maxwell apparently shown to have nothing to do with it.

James V may have believed that his authority was well
stamped on the Borders by this raid into the Reivers heartland, but he
underestimated Johnieís place in the scheme of the Borders: Johnie may
have been one of the worst brigands to ride "....a heilk
moon...." , but he was an Armstrong which was one the largest
and most powerful families on the Borders. Reivers could feud amongst
themselves, even to the death, but they had a habit of allying together
against outsiders. Maxwell was never forgiven by the Armstrongs and
James had broken his "given" word to a Reiver. "Revenge
is a meal best eaten cold" and the Reivers certainly waited for it
to be well-cooked by the time their opportunity came around some 12
years later at Sollomoss.

Jamesí experiences under the Regency left him a
less than enamoured of his nobility and he found increasing support from
his Church.....at a price; the Church recognised that there was a
undercurrent of religious dissatisfaction in England and with the
support of France and Rome provided a safe haven for disaffected English
Catholics. With the constant niggling doubt about an English male heir
until 1537 and the Papal Bull effectively declaring "open
season" on the English throne for those strong enough, all lead to
a groundswell of opinion in Scotland that Henry was weak enough to be
dislodged with the help of the English Catholics, supported by by the
Catholic realms of Europe. Capturing Henry's "New Renaissance"
ships only added to James's confidence about the success of an invasion.

The final spur to James was given when Henry executed
yet another wife in February 1542, this one being the neice of Norfolk,
who was instrumental in the Act of Six Articles and Cromwell's
execution. Norfolk was also commander of the Kinges Majesties Armie of
the North; if James V needed an opportunity, invading against an
unprepared enemy whose army was lead by a disaffected commander, this
was it. There is no doubt that James, although driven by wanting revenge
for Flodden and the death of his father, was however too quick to listen
to the fervour of his followers who were looking the opportunity to
start and then support a Catholic rebellion in England.

Hertford, Lisle and the Bishop of Durham discovered
after the battle: "....by an other espiall that the Cardinall of
Scotlande with therle of Murray, greate lieutenante to the King as they
call him of Scotlande, lyinge at Haddington, were pourposid in case the
Scottes had not had thover throwe in the West Marches, with thre
bisshops and diverse other with theym, to have remevid from thens unto
Lowder, and the next night after to have com to Cawdstreme, and from
thens to have entred in to this realme and to have commen unto oon of
the churches of our Borders, where with the Bisshop of Roomes auctorite,
to have enterdictid this reaulme...". So the Scottish nobles
were not wrong, James's purpose was to get his bishops onto English soil
and carry out an excommunication in situ for the Pope and thus attract
the English Catholic faction to help overthrow Henry, bringing a war
with England.

Thus the ambitions of both Henry and James were
brought to Arthuret in 1542 by their arrogant, avaricious and vindictive
natures; so by August 1542, both English and Scottish Borderers were
being incited by their respective Governments to wreak as much havoc as
possible on the opposite side as a forerunner to the now inevitable war.
In reprisal for a particularly effective Scottish Reivers raid, Robert
Bowes, the English Deputy East March Warden raided and devastated
Teviotdale and the surrounding area; whilst returning with the plunder
and livestock, the English were ambushed by the Earl of Huntly at Haddon
Rig. The English force included Reivers from Tynedale and Redesdale, who
realising the overwhelming odds, deserted Bowes and vanished into the
hills with the plunder. The remaining English were badly defeated and
fled after Bowes was captured. As reported in Lisle's Letter to the
Privy Council: "...Astowching the kinges graces subjectes taken
prisoners in Skotland upon Sanct Boartilmewe daye, Syr Robert Bowes and
Syr Roger Lasselles ar kept at Sanct Andrewes...." Henry VIII
was furious and decided to settle the matter once and for all by force.

In October 1542, 20,000 English Northern Levies were
despatched under the command of Lord Norfolk to destroy Kelso, Roxburgh
and Teviotdale; after a week of destruction, the English returned to
Berwick on Tweed because the English victualling logistics were quite
unable to support further operations, arguably Norfolk's deteriorating
relationship with Henry was a major contributing factor to this lack of
support. James V had already raised one army of around 30,000 men at
Fala Moor, but on hearing that the English had retired to Berwick his
nobles, who had little faith in James anyway, gave the excuse that James
was fighting the war in the interests of religion not Scotland and
disbanded. James did not give up and managed to assemble another army of
about 18,000 men with the help of the Church and his Lord High Admiral
Maxwell who would take any excuse to attack his rival Warden in
Carlisle. Cleverly announcing that this army would commence activities
in the Eastern Marches, Maxwell and James promptly marched towards
Cumberland, gaining the strategic advantage. Under the veteran Lord
Maxwell, the Scottish army descended on the wide open western Borders.
James, under strict instructions from his wife who was heavily pregnant,
remained in Lochmaben Castle, while Lord Maxwell continued over to
Langholm Castle with the main forces.

Unfortunately for Scotland, her King James V and
Catholicism, Sir Thomas Wharton was Deputy Warden of the English West
March. Wharton was an incredibly brave commander, as he knew the odds
against him and he could have justified remaining safely in Carlisle
Castle in view of Hertford's reticence to support him militarily.
Wharton planned his strategy very carefully and then executed it to
perfection, using his small force of Reivers to defeat and rout a
Scottish force reported to be at least ten times greater in size, with
virtually no losses.

Historical
Significance:

The Battle of Sollomoss has been variously described
as a large raid, the last serious invasion of England by a foreign power
and a simple retaliation by the Scots for the Bowes raid. Conventional
historical wisdom claims that this battle had few if any, long term
implications for national politics of both sides, but this view
overlooks the importance of the setback to Catholicism in both
countries. James V, in conjunction with the Scottish Church, was
effectively trying to reinstate Catholicism in England and there is
little doubt that had his Bishops succeeded in delivering the Papal
interdict from an English pulpit, mainland Europe would have siezed the
opportunity to support him. Wharton decisively closed this door at
Sollome Moss. James V died within a month and Scotland was yet again
under a Regency of nobles, whose purpose was to consolidate their
weakened Kingdom and not impose Catholicism.

If Wharton had not neutralised the Bellís at
Middlebie and James not executed Johnie Armstrong, and Maxwell had not
been so intent on his Graeme feud, then Jamesís army would have
arrived at Arthuret, backed up by a Reiver force equal to the task set
by Wharton. As at Flodden the unwritten law of the Borders would have
ensured a small Reiver skirmish, followed by a stand-off. Whartonís
"meite purpos" would not have convinced Maxwell that
there was a large English army ready for the Scots and James would have
successfully delivered the excommunication so desperately needed for
English Catholics to overthrow Henry.

The Aftermath of
Sollome Moss:

As a result of Sollome Moss the English Catholics
remained unsupported and excluding a few small rebellious events, they
diminished in political authority over the ensuing century. Sollome Moss
was not an important military battle, except insofar as it finally
convinced the Scots that their attempts to invade England should cease,
but it was a crucially important cultural battle for the adverse effect
it had on Catholicism and the resultant consolidation of English
Protestantism, which directly lead to the Civil War, centralisation of
Government authority and military power and the consequent rise to
global power of the United Kingdom.

It is also true that James VI of Scotland arrived on
the English throne in 1603 with a definite dislike of Borderers, having
had both his father and grandfather die as a result of battles that they
had lost against the Reivers, and ordered them to be imprisoned, hanged
or deported during his Border pacification of 1603 to 1612. But Reivers
were survivors and many resurfaced in a different guise, inventing
telephones (Bell), walking on the moon (Armstrong), becoming famous
preachers (Graham), presidents (Nixon, Johnstone), Prime Ministers
(Hume), footballers (Charlton), writers (Scott), scientists (Rutherford)
and amongst the countless other famous Border Reiver names, even coffee
makers (Maxwell).

Sollome Moss may be regarded by conventional history
as merely a footnote, but it may have indirectly caused some of the
greatest changes seen by mankind. James Bellís family motto sums it up
quite aptly: "Quod Adsumus, Meliore Est" - Because we
are here, it is better!

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